Final Fantasy Tactics Advance: The Novel
by Rogue A.I
Summary: A novelisation of the FFTA game. It's mostly serious, with some humour in. Follow Marche as he's spirited to the fantasy land of Ivalice, learns how to fight, and tries to find his way home! Rating will rise for violence as more chapters are added.
1. The Hero Gaol?

This is my first fanfic in a while, and I think it's a pretty ambitious project! Turning the entire game of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance into a novel is going to be difficult, but I've seen it attempted before…unfortunately, it was very short, and wasn't updated after six chapters. This is going to have elements of humour in, and the first chapter is semi-serious, I'd say. However, it will be serious. I have borrowed elements from Icey the Fox's novel _Casualties, _which is the best fanfiction I have ever read in all my years browsing ! If you like FFTA, I strongly recommend you read it. One of the elements I have borrowed is the engagement system- using a JP to summon a judge for engagements, and reviving the dead clan members once the fight ends. Anyway, on with the fic. Just so you know, I'm skipping out the entire story segment of St. Ivalice, and this novel starts after Marche finds himself in Ivalice, and meets Montblanc. Please R and R, constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms, and if you attempt to flame me, my sage from another save file will cast Water on them!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, or anything relating to the game. Square Enix own it, and this fanfiction is purely for pleasure, not for profit. I also don't own the terms "Overdrive" and "Limit Break", they are also copyrighted to Square Enix. Neither do I own the portmanteau made by these terms.

**Chapter 1 - The Hero Gaol?**

"All I have to do is introduce you and you're in, kupo!" Montblanc explained. Marche nodded, and as the stuffed anim- moogle introduced him, the boy attempted to make sense of the situation. He had awoken in a rocky place wearing odd clothing and amour, found his way to a city, had bumped into a liza- bangaa, and had beaten the liz- bangaa in a fight, with a sword, no less! He turned back to Montblanc,

"Does this clan have a name?" He inquired, and Montblanc shook his head.

"No, not yet, kupo. We're a small clan…hey, why don't you think of a name, kupo? To commemorate you joining?" Marche panicked- he couldn't think of a good name! Maybe something from Final Fantasy would do. He tried to recall the main character's name. Clan Gaol? No, that sounded stupid. Clan…what were the best weapon equips in the game?"

"Uh, how about Clan Ayvuir?" He suggested, at a loss for what to name the group. By the way that the dog-person, rabbit-girl, lizar- bangaa and other human were staring at him, maybe not. "Or something else like Clan Twilight!" He babbled, embarrassed by their gazes. Montblanc nodded, "Twilight it is, kupo!" The assorted races returned to what they were doing before. The moogle (he got it right first time!) took him aside and told him,

"It would be pretentious to name the clan after the hero Gaol's blades, kupo!" Marche nodded again. By the reception of his first suggestion, he assumed that the word 'pretentious' meant something bad. "I'm curious, kupo: how is it that you don't know what a moogle is, but know of the hero Gaol, kupo?" Montblanc asked, and then added before Marche could try to explain, "Actually, just tell me what you know about Gaol, kupo." Marche nodded for a third time, trying to remember what happened in Final Fantasy. He didn't pay much attention to everything in the game- he preferred to read books. Final Fantasy was Doned's territory. His brother played it almost religiously at the hospital and at home, as he had nothing else to do. Marche only tried it half-heartedly after Doned recommended it. However, he had ended up completing it, and enjoyed playing it more than he expected to.

"Uh, let's see…Oh yeah! You get to play as Gaol, he's the hero…you start off adventuring after this long cutscene, and then Gaol meets this st- moogle called Lini, then there's this guy who shoots arrows, called Cheney or something. He has a strong Limit Drive, Ultima something? And one of those rabbit-girls-"

"Viera, kupo!"

"-viera called Eldena who uses magic and her Limit Drive was casting two spells at once, and a liz- bangaa called Pal-something. His Limit Drive was like Cheney's. Uh…and there's Quin, the dog-"

"Nu mou, kupo…" Montblanc facepalmed.

"-nu mou and he had the same Limit Drive as the other two, and Lini had that Ultima thing too. Oh, and at the end, Gaol dies after killing a big worm thing…The World Worm?" Marche gabbled, horribly butchering the plot of the game, and missing out the entire story, but Montblanc got the gist.

"Okaaay, kupo…what's a Limit Drive, cutscene, and…how do you know about the Worldwyrm?" Marche blinked. How could he explain those video game terminologies to the clueless moogle? He made a valiant attempt.

"Uh, don't worry about cutscenes, they aren't important." Of course, Marche wouldn't know the story since he skipped the cutscenes. "A Limit Drive…well, it happens when someone gets hit a lot, it's like a special…ability." Montblanc frowned,

"Like reaction abilities, kupo?" Marche had no idea what that was, so shrugged. "Anyway, kupo, how do you know about Gaol and his friends?" The human smiled nervously,

"Well, you know you said that Ivalice was like my pretend world? Well, in my pretend world, I was Gaol." Marche described the entire premise of RPG games with surprising simplicity. Montblanc's eyes widened, and he looked at Marche slowly.

"I see, kupo…Well, feel free to get to know all the other clan members…" The mage trailed off, leaving Marche alone in the clan section and wandering off. A dog- nu mou in white robes with red triangles on turned to Marche.

"Greetings. My name is Monid, and if I had named the clan, I would call it Clan Arcadia." Marche nodded politely, and a human in blue combat wear with a blue hat introduced himself too,

"I'm Euver the soldier. I'd call the clan Clan Materia." Marche frowned, wasn't that word from yet another Final Fantasy game? The rabbit- viera wearing tan clothing and a quiver at her back then set her gaze upon him.

"I am Tamara. I would call it Clan Spirit." Finally, the liz- bangaa rose, wearing blue and white robes.

"My name isss Roossster, and I would call the Clan Chakra." Marche sweatdropped, it seemed like the other clanners were complaining about his choice of names.

"Well, you made a better choice than the moogle. He was going to call it Clan Nutsy." Tamara attempted to be kind, and Marche nodded, reassured. "What class are you?" The human frowned, looking at Euver.

"Uh, soldier, I think. I'm new to this." Monid nodded, interpreting the statement differently from how Marche meant it.

"Ah, only recently been inducted in the ways of the soldier? Welcome to the clan, anyway. We await our first mission with excitement! After we have purchased all necessary equipment, of course." Marche nodded, taking all this in,

"So, uh, you need to buy weapons and stuff. Okay! And…you can get missions from the bartender?" Euver nodded.

"You know what you're doing! I can't wait to see your combat, I want to see if you're a natural." Marche, weighed down by the pressure of such expectations, sighed, and headed out of the inn, accompanied by Rooster, and to the shop.

"Alright. We need sssome head armour before our firssst mission." Marche sorted through the hats on the racks, and Rooster stopped his arm as he grasped a green beret. "Certain head armour can lead to people learning certain abilitiesss. That green beret will help archersss block arrowsss." Marche nodded,

"I'll buy one of those then." Rooster advised,

"And sssome better armour if you want. I believe you could handle sssome Bronze Armour."

After much buying, and consulting the bartender, Marche had finally found a mission. He approached Montblanc, who looked a lot calmer than when he had told the moogle the Final Fantasy story, and spoke hesitantly,

"Well, I've found a mission that seemed easy enough." Montblanc nodded.

"Alright, kupo! When can you start?" Marche was eager to partake in his first fight, now that Rooster's friendly help had dispelled his nerves. He had enjoyed Final Fantasy, but it was more fun being here than just pressing buttons. He hadn't been looking forward to another day of school with the three bullies, and the cold, and other things. Now, he would be able to fight monsters and have adventures…if everything went well.

"Straight away!" Montblanc nodded and grinned,

"Alright, kupo! Where are we headed?" Marche frowned, trying to recall the new geography of this place.

"Giza…Plains?" Montblanc replied,

"Ah, of course, kupo! It'll take three days from here in Cyril. We aren't going to go through Sprohm. That's the city that has the prison in, and it's south of here. As we go, I'll explain the battle conditions."

The clan had been travelling for two and a half days, with various chances to get to know each other better. Euver had coerced the clan into playing Eye Spy, and had encouraged Marche to come up with silly suggestions. The two egged each other on until Tamara was extremely close indeed to firing arrows through their skulls. They then stopped, and Monid had taken the chance to teach Marche about Ivalice. However, he rapidly digressed into the theory of magic, and attempted to teach Marche how to cast spells. At that point Montblanc had stopped him wearily, and Rooster, the voice of reason, took over.

"No, Marche, you don't need to worry about the arcane gesssturesss needed to cassst fire." Rooster reassured the nervous soldier for at least the tenth time. "Now, Marche, tell me what you've learned." Marche took a deep breath,

"You don't die in engagements, because the judge and the laws stop death…uh, the laws change every day, and they ban things. Um…oh yeah! Euver and me are soldiers, Montblanc is a black mage, Monid is a white mage, and Tamara….is an archer?" Rooster nodded encouragingly,

"And what about me?" Marche's face screwed up in concentration,

"You're…you're a white monk! Uh…" Montblanc, who was walking alongside them, smiled. Marche showed potential, and he learned quickly.

"How about…where have we travelled through? Can you remember the citiesss?" Marche thought once more,

"Er, we started from Cyril, went through…the…Aisenfield, and the cave…Nargai?" Rooster nodded.

"Very good!" Soon, they reached the grassy grounds of the Giza Plains. Montblanc looked to Marche, and they walked right into a group of creatures.

"We'll have to deal with these monsters first!" Marche commented, and then asked a few seconds later, "…what are they?" Euver checked his short sword enthusiastically,

"Goblins and a fairy!" Montblanc spoke,

"Told you our clan does rough work, kupo!" Monid interrupted,

"Do not forget to check the laws! I have no desire to visit Sprohm." Marche frowned,

"That's the prison town, isn't it? And lots of l-bangaas live there." He drew a deep breath, hoping that Rooster hadn't caught his slip. Evidently not, as the white monk nodded.

"Let'sss get thisss fight ssstarted!" Montblanc threw a small star into the air, declaring,

"I declare an engagement!" A judge appeared, and he asked, "What are today's laws, kupo?" The armoured being, sat atop the chocobo, replied in a strong voice,

"Protect is forbidden. Poison is recommended." Montblanc looked to Tamara,

"I have a rapier here which can cause poison, kupo. Do you want to use it?" The viera shrugged,

"Of course, extra judge points are not to be sniffed at." She nodded, taking a long purple dress from seemingly out of nowhere, and disappeared into the horizon for a few minutes, before returning, having changed. "Alright, are we ready?" Everyone was lined up and ready. The judge nodded,

"Today's engagement- Clan Twilight against assorted monsters!" He then blew a whistle, and all hell broke loose for Marche.

The fairy flew forwards, and the entire clan charged forwards. Marche, not wanting to be left behind, followed. Tamara reached a goblin first, and thrust her rapier out, and a swarm of ghostly insects converged on the goblin, stinging it. The monster then fell to one knee, and the judge threw another star-shaped crystal to the viera, who caught it. Euver ran at another goblin, swinging his sword at it. He hit, and the goblin cried out in pain, hitting the soldier back. Rooster punched right through the fairy with his knuckleduster-like weapon, and the fairy collapsed. Rooster then received a judgepoint. However, he wasn't so lucky when all the other goblins converged, hitting Rooster over and over. The heftily built bangaa wasn't agile enough to dodge the blows, and so was pummelled until he finally gave up the ghost, crumpling. Montblanc shouted out over the crackling of a thunder spell as he raised his rod, fur ruffled by the breeze that the lightning created,

"Don't waste phoenix downs, kupo, keep them for tougher missions!" Monid nodded, raising a white staff. Bright sparks burst from the end, landing on Tamara as she danced a dangerous quickstep, rapier darting out and trying to catch the goblin. The monster was surprisingly agile, dodging most of her attacks. Marche and Euver were making swift progress on one goblin, surrounding him and lashing out with their short swords. Montblanc dashed over to them at last, shooting off a fire spell to deal with their goblin. Before long, the monotonous battle was over. Marche panted with exertion, and the judge raised his hands.

"The engagement has been awarded to Clan Twilight! The monsters will be removed from the area." The gauntlets glowed, and Rooster climbed to his feet unsteadily, looking disappointed.

"Cursssesss. I wanted to sssee Marche fight. Wasss he good?" Tamara, sheathing her rapier, paused for a moment, and then nodded.

"His first fight was impressive. Did you enjoy it?" Marche nodded happily,

"Me and Euver killed a goblin! I never knew fighting could be so fun!" Rooster laughed, patting the human none-too-gently on the back, and he stumbled.

"Sssee, everyone sssaysss that, but when you get hit by monssstersss, it hurts." The monsters they had faced off against had been raised, and teleported. The judge then disappeared in a flash of light. Monid stood at the edge of the plains, and the other three joined him, leaving their leader Montblanc and Marche alone. The moogle looked to Marche,

"So, what are we doing here, kupo?"

"Uh, we're looking for mus…musca…"

"Muscmaloi! That grows all over the place, kupo!" Montblanc sounded surprised, "I used to pick it all the time when I was little, kupo…the mission fee for this was cheap, right?" Marche hung his head, nodding,

"Yeah, now that you mention it…" Montblanc sensed the embarrassment of his new comrade, and hurriedly replied,

"Well, I figured it's best to start off with easy missions anyhow, kupo. I expect there'll be more missions when we get back!" Marche nodded, and the duo both set to their task, picking the common medicinal herb.


	2. Fire, Fire!

Welcome to chapter 2! I plan to hopefully update this every day of my Easter break. When I go back to school, updates might change to something like every Saturday. I apologise for the clunky fight scene last chapter, and the one this chapter. Hopefully the beginning of the clan wars will make it more exciting, with human opponents who can respond, taunt and react! Constructive criticism welcomed gladly, please read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to or including Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, it's all Square Enix's property.

**Chapter Two- Fire, Fire!**

Marche sat in the clan section of the Prancing Chocobo, nursing a cool drink of marlboro juice. When he had gone up to order it with Monid, he'd blurted out,

"Isn't that a monster?" Monid chuckled, mage robes fluttering,

"Why, my dear boy, surely you don't believe that the beverage is made from actual Marlboros, surely? It is merely a nickname for this delicious thirst quencher. That is where the joke is, you see, because one would imagine that any foodstuff made of Marlboros would taste most foul, but this tastes delightful-" Thankfully for Marche, the nu mou was cut off by the bartender handing over a flagon.

"Two gil, please." Marche handed over the coins, and returned to his seat. Tamara was the only clan member still at the table they had commandeered. Montblanc had gone off to handle 'clan duties', Euver had gone to see his friends in Cyril and nobody knew where Rooster had gone.

Marche had been in Ivalice for about a week now, and was starting to remember that he had been separated from friends and family when he awoke in this new world. Where was everyone else? Were they in Ivalice too?

"Why so glum, Marche?" Monid interrupted his thoughts. The boy replied, as he watched Tamara approached a human wearing an odd hat with netting, shorts and a jacket-shirt thing who had a large bow strapped to his back,

"Oh, nothing…Hey, Monid, you know things about magic, don't you?" Monid nodded, grinning widely,

"Finally decided to become a mage at last? You have made the correct choice, my dear boy!" Marche stopped his joy,

"No…" The soldier spoke thoughtfully, "Would it be possible to…say, turn Ivalice into a place where it snows all the time, there are only humans and there is no magic or monsters?" Monid eyed the boy,

"By Ultima, Marche, where on Ivalice did you get this idea from?" However, after pondering a while, the nu mou did answer his curious question, "If that were possible at all, it would take immense arcane energy to completely change a world, from the very foundations to… even the weather. I think…" He murmured, "…That if they exist, only a totema could do such a thing, for they wield such powerful magic." Marche stared cluelessly. Monid noticed his reaction; "Your parents never told you bedtime stories about the totema? Well, according to myth, each race on Ivalice was created by a totema, a being of pure magic. That makes five totema, and myth also says that they created this world." Marche listened- the totema sounded like Earth's equivalent to God. "Why, Marche, your ideas are most philosophical and mysterious! Are you positive you do not want to be a mage? I think that what you've just come up with shows your mystic potential!" Marche then recalled Monid using a familiar word, that word from Final Fantasy.

"Monid, what's Ultima?" Marche wondered if it was an attack here too. Monid caught the boy's gaze inquisitively.

"You mean who…although there is a what as well. Your perception is most interesting…Ahem, anyway!" The nu mou shook his head, floppy ears swinging to and fro, to clear his mind, "Ultima is the totema of the nu mou race. Some of us less religiously inclined tend to use their names as a curse. If you're wondering, by the way, your totema is called Mateus." Marche nodded, thanking Monid, and as the holder of the clan wallet, he excused himself to go shopping. The entire clan would meet up an hour after sunset.

Montblanc was worrying.

"He's not back yet, kupo. I bet he's been mugged, or worse, kupo!" Tamara shook her head,

"You saw him in his first fight. I think that he could either hold of one attacker, or stand up to multiple attackers long enough to get help from friendly warriors." The door to the inn opened, and Marche walked in. He stopped in front of everyone, who looked at him expectantly. The boy then declared something in the style of a child learning to read- slowly and clearly, with pauses between each word.

"Oh," here there was a long pause as Marche began to sound out the foreign syllables,

"Oh, Mateus. We are running out of money." His loud announcement received an interesting reception. Tamara looked at him with an expression somewhere between a stare and a glare, Monid dissolved into laughter, Montblanc merely looked at him with furrowed brow, and Rooster looked surprised. Euver, however, was completely oblivious to how wooden the curse sounded, and responded in a concerned manner,

"Uh oh, that's not good! What were you spending it on?" Marche replied happily,

"Boots and gauntlets. Gauntlets were…two thousand gil, and boots were one thousand." Euver was the second to use a curse angrily,

"Oh holy Mateus, they're ripping you off! I ought to burn them down-" Marche was still pleased, his using of the curse was another way in which he was fitting into the world of Ivalice. Suddenly, a soldier dressed entirely in orange burst in,

"Fire, fire!" He panted, and Montblanc rose, shouting across,

"What's going on, kupo?" Monid muttered to everyone,

"Orange- isn't that the colour of the Cyril Town Watch?" Tamara replied snippily,

"Why would I know, I'm more or less fresh from Muscadet!" The soldier's next panic-stricken words cut through their babble,

"There are bombs," He gasped, "In Chocobo Street! If they get any closer to the centre of Cyril, there's going to be a huge disaster!" The moogle made his way across to the soldier, all action.

"We'll deal with them, kupo. We'll treat it as a mission, how much is the fee?" The soldier looked confused- he had come primarily to warn the people gathered, and hadn't expected a clan to volunteer their help,

"Uh, fee…oh, yes, fee! Six hundred gil!" Montblanc gestured to Marche urgently. The boy hurried over, and his wallet was raided,

"Kupopo…lucky, we have six hundred gil exactly." He then took out all the coinage, pouring it into the outstretched hands of the soldier, before shouting to his clan, "Let's go, kupo!" The calm and level-headed reaction of the moogle is why he was the clan leader. The other clan members hurried after the moogle, racing through city streets illuminated by the moon and stars, until they were relatively near the outskirts of the city. They halted in front of several buildings, and the red, fiery balls that awaited them roared. Tamara took the initiative with her bonus judge points, throwing one into the air.

"I declare an engagement!" The star-shaped point glowed, faded, and a judge appeared, looking at the combatants.

"Today's engagement- Clan Twilight against the bombs. Confuse is prohibited, and Berserk is recommended." Montblanc nodded. Marche, who had expected actual incendiary devices, blinked. Then he realised that in Ivalice, where the closest thing resembling modern weaponry was a pellet-shooting, powder-powered pistol, it would make sense that bombs would be monsters. He shrugged, drawing his short sword, and Tamara, bedecked in archer gear today, nocked an arrow. The judge raised whistle to mouth, and blew it hard. The shrill noise signalled the start of the engagement.

Two bombs were up a level, hovering on the roof of several buildings. There were stairs at either side, but a more pressing concern was the two bombs opposite them. Tamara made a first move, loosing her arrow. A bomb that was advancing slowly towards them performed what constituted a side step, although it didn't have legs. The arrow stuck harmlessly into the ground next to it. Rooster waited for the bomb to get close to him before sinking his knuckles into the fiery exterior of the bomb. The monster growled, lashing out with arms of flame, and scorching the white monk. Euver, torn between two targets, at last decided to aid Tamara, rushing the bomb with sword in hand. Marche, thinking strategically, realised that it would make sense to help Rooster, and promptly went to his aid, slashing at the bomb. Montblanc, ready with his arcane skills, lashed out at Tamara's bomb with ice crystals that formed suddenly, lancing through the monster and killing it. The bomb shrivelled in a plume of flame. Tamara, who could now turn her attention to the two bombs on the rooftop, looming precariously over the drop that would land them next to the clanners, nocked another arrow, which flew true, hurtling into the bomb nearest her. Elsewhere, Rooster and Marche had finished off their bomb, and as Marche began to hurry up the stairs connecting to the rooftops, the bomb spat a fireball, which knocked Rooster off his feet. The bangaa got up, covered in burns and wincing. Monid, who had been on standby during the fight, cast a healing spell. White sparks landed on Rooster, knitting skin together and turning shiny, raw skin soft and unmarred again. Euver took the stairs on the other side. The two soldiers had almost reached the bombs when another ice spell and a well-timed arrow dealt with the final two bombs. The judge raised his hands, reviving the bombs and healing any injuries that the clan members had taken.

"The victors are Clan Twilight! The bombs will be removed from Cyril." Both lawmaker and monster vanished, and Montblanc smiled.

"Nice fight, kupo! Nobody died this time!" Marche had enjoyed the scuffle, and he and Euver high-fived triumphantly. They turned to leave when the same orange-clad soldier turned up again, having run through Cyril.

"Thank you! You've saved Cyril, Clan….uh…" Montblanc filled in the name,

"Twilight, kupo." The soldier nodded, and handed over a sack full of gil. Marche stepped forward as the unofficial treasurer of the clan, and was weighed down by it.

"This is heavy!" He commented, and the soldier quickly disappeared into the alleys of Cyril.

After a long trek back to the Prancing Chocobo, the clan were exhausted. Marche was falling asleep on his feet, and Rooster had to push him along every so often. They entered the inn to see a viera in white mage robes looking at the notice board above the bar intently. Tamara, seeing a kindred viera in a town populated by humans, greeted her and went over to talk to her. Monid and Montblanc, who had been arguing over whether or not Marche should become a black mage, went to sit in the clan section. The other three followed them, and Marche asked Rooster questions that had been fermenting in his mind since they returned from the outskirts of Cyril to the heart of the busy city.

"Rooster, who makes up the laws? Who makes them change very day?" The white monk replied,

"The Judgemassster isss in charge of all the judgesss. He makesss up the lawsss, and the judgesss reinforce them. Basssically, where the law isss involved, the Judgemassster isss in charge." Marche took in this information, and asked yet another question.

"Where does the Judgemaster live?" Rooster laughed, a deep throaty sound.

"He livesss at the palace with the queen and her son, the prince." Marche processed this. It would make sense to have a queen in this fantasy land. He sat down at the table while Montblanc swore,

"Famfrit, Monid, this is the last time I'm telling you, kupo! Marche is skilled with a sword, and we need melee fighters, kupo!" Marche was learning a lot today- firstly, the legend about the creation of Ivalice, and the names of the totema. The nu mou totema was called Ultima, the human one was called Mateus, and the moogle totema was called Fam…Famf…Famfrit! The soldier smiled at nobody in particular. Suddenly, Tamara was back again, with the other viera in tow.

"Montblanc. Montblanc….Oi, Montblanc!" She tried to get the attention of the debating moogle, but failed, even with her last shout. Marche replied in Montblanc's stead,

"What is it, Tamara?" The archer pointed to her friend.

"Well, this is Delia. She's looking for a clan, because her parents sent her here from Muscadet to gain some experience of fighting." The second viera curtsied, and introduced herself shyly,

"Hello…I'm Delia. I…don't have any knowledge of spellcasting…I'm new to this clan business too..." Marche nodded,

"Well, since Montblanc is busy, then we'll have to decide if you can join." He paused for a moment, noticing that Delia looked uncomfortable in the silence, and then made his decision, "Welcome to Clan Twilight!" Rooster immediately shook hands with the new member, and Marche looked to the white monk for guidance. "Uh, we already have an archer…but you could be one of those people with the stabby swords…"

"Fencer." Rooster hissed. Marche added,

"Yes, you could be a fencer. How does that sound?" Delia looked fearful,

"I…combat?" Marche nodded reassuringly. This clan leading stuff wasn't too hard. He'd already welcomed in a new member and delegated a job to her! Montblanc would be proud…hopefully. "Alright then…I'll try my best!" Montblanc and Monid stopped their quarrelling at last, and stared at Delia. The timid viera blushed.

"Who's this, kupo?" Euver replied helpfully,

"This is Delia, our newest member. Since you were arguing, Marche took over your clan leader-ing. He says that she should be a fencer, and I agree!" Monid smirked craftily.

"See, my friend, Marche has brains. Such mind power could be put to a brilliant use- learning the ways of magic, blasting enemies-" Montblanc shook his head vehemently, and Delia spoke up,

"Um…why don't you ask Marche what he wants to do?" She turned an even more violent red under the scrutiny of the nu mou and moogle. At last, Montblanc spoke up,

"…That's a good judgement, kupo. Marche is Marche, and he knows himself best. What would you rather be, kupo? Soldier or mage?" Delia's complexion returned to normal.

"Soldier! I think that…that making decisions is different from being clever. I think that I can make decisions, but I'm not clever. Not like Monid is." Monid sighed dramatically,

"Such a wise insight from Marche! See, he really is being wasted as a soldier! Mindless stabbing and hacking-" Euver objected to this,

"Hey! I'm not mindless!" Tamara rolled her eyes,

"Sorry, Delia. If you want to join, you're going to have to put up with all this." She then addressed the clanners, "You've got your decision. Marche is to be a soldier. Let's leave it at that!" Everyone nodded, and the aforementioned boy asked Montblanc,

"Should we take some more missions?" Montblanc nodded,

"Good idea, kupo." The two of them walked over to the bartender.

"Can I see your missions?" Marche asked. The bartender hefted the mission board out from under the bar, placing it on the surface. The soldier scanned through it.

"Hey, what's a dispatch mission?" Montblanc blinked,

"That's when you send off one clan member to complete a solo mission, kupo. Is there one of those on offer?" Marche responded,

"Yep, Dueling Sub. What's a viscount? Because one of those has been challenged to a duel, but he's too scared to go, and he wants someone to go instead of him." Montblanc shook his head, pompom dangling up and down rapidly,

"Don't worry about what it is, it's just a name, kupo. Who do they want to go?" Marche read the details,

"A soldier. I don't think I know enough about Ivalice to find my way there and back on my own, so maybe Euver should go." Montblanc agreed with the decision,

"That makes sense, kupo! How about the other missions?" Marche read them.

"Well, someone wants their nieces and nephews to be taken out to play in the snow on Lutia Pass." Montblanc blinked.

"Did you say snow, kupo? There's no snow in Lutia Pass, it's west of here, and we usually have the same weather as there, kupo!" Marche picked up on the word 'west'.

"Wait, did you say west? I…when I came here, I found myself laying in this rocky place with some snow in." The moogle's eyes widened,

"That's Lutia, kupo!" Marche added this to his list of place names that he knew.

"Oh, and another Lutia mission. Some thieves stole a thesis from someone as he went through the Lutia Pass. It says here that he overheard the thieves say that they were meeting the buyer in three days' time!" Montblanc went over the details in his mind.

"Well, it will take one day to travel to Lutia with the children, one day to come back, and if we go to Lutia again, we'd arrive on the third day mentioned…so we'd run right into those thieves, kupopo! Can we afford all these missions? Delia can fill in for Euver if we have any battles, kupo." Marche grinned.

"Bartender, we'll take all the missions!" He handed over a haul of gil, took sheets with the mission details on, and then bounced back to Euver. "Get your equipment, Euver! You're on a dispatch mission! Someone's chickening out of a duel, and you're going instead of him!" He handed over the mission details, and Euver grinned. "We're taking other missions too, so we'll either be in Lutia Pass or Cyril when you're done…it depends how long you're going to take!" The soldier read the sheet, and then replied,

"Well, I've got all the location details here. I think I should be back in three days' time." Marche raised an eyebrow.

"That fits with our missions! We'll be in Lutia by then. Good luck, Euver!" The other clanners echoed the good luck wish, and Delia, who had changed into the purple fencer's dress, waved shyly. Montblanc announced,

"Right, we are going to Lutia, kupo! First thing tomorrow morning we'll set off." Euver piped up,

"I'm going to go straight away. See you later!" Everyone sent him off jovially, and at last went to bed. It was nearly midnight, and their fight with the bombs had left them weary. They would get up at first light, and travel to Lutia at dawn.


End file.
